Raising Hell With Hell Raisers Audio Journey… By Claire Rye

When a call went out for a multi-character short story to be adapted into an audio drama, I immediately thought of the perfect one: a creepy little horror tale about a young rock band breaking down in the harsh, eerie expanse of the Australian outback. “The HellRazors.” It had the tension, atmosphere, and characters that could come alive in audio form.Working with Rusty was fun—well, fun for me, at least. He did all the hard work, while I provided insights into what the characters meant to me.

Hearing the story come to life with sound effects and dialogue felt surreal at first. When I write, I can see, hear, and feel the characters in my head, so the audio drama didn’t quite match the version I’d imagined. But watching my husband—an avid non-reader—get drawn into the story was eye-opening. His expressions as he experienced each twist made me realize how AI can help us share stories with people who might not usually be interested. It opens up a whole new way to connect with different audiences. I love that!

The end result was pretty impressive. For what was originally just an “experiment” in testing AI’s limits with a narrated, multi-character drama, it turned out well. Listen below…

NOTE from Chris (this file is just over 5mb so an easy email attachment too)

Hearing it all come together, I felt the thrill of exploring new creative ground. I think the final result captures the essence of the story—the humour in the dialogue and maybe even a hint of something sinister lurking in the outback.

A big thank you to Chris Jones and Create 50 for making this connection possible, and an even bigger thanks to Rusty Rushfeldt for his hard work and patience throughout the process. And of course, thank you for reading this blog, listening to the audio drama, and maybe even sharing your thoughts?